3 hours, 3 credits. The contemporary role of the judiciary as a part of the decision-making process in American public policy, with an analysis of the various levels of Federal and State judicial systems in terms of (1) input: judicial recruitment, judicial policy making, and relations between national and state court systems; (2) implementation: relation to other national and State policy makers and problems of compliance with court decisions; and (3) problems of our judicial system and the chances for change. PREREQ: POL 166.